Implicit Vocabulary

Now that you are informed of why vocabulary is important and needs to be taught daily in the classroom, the next step is determining which words you need to use/teach to your students. Many teachers feel that they only need to teach students high frequency words, because those are the words that are most common in the English language. Instead, we need to teach words that are rich and will prepare our students to participate in society. The question you have now is: then what words do I use? Researchers grouped words based on a three-tier system developed by Isabel L. Beck, a professor emerita of education at the University of Pittsburgh (Sparks 2013). Tier 1 words are common words that we use everyday; these are words like girl, run, boy, fighting, etc. Tier 2 words are more complex and occur across domains. Examples are; spiral, refused, anonymous, confidential, etc. Tier 3 words are complex and encountered less frequently. Examples are; isotope, asphalt, doctrine, etc. (Feezell 233-237). When teaching vocabulary, you want to focus on tier 2 words. Tier 2 words are common in the written language. There are many educators and scholars who let children choose all their own words for study. I have included activities below, that you can use in your classroom to teach these words.